Furnace



'April 15, 1930. HfB. mmm 1,754,237

FURNACE Filed Sept. 22, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l l ...ifi W April 15, 1930.H. B. MARKHAM 1,754,237

FURNACE N Filed sept. 22, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 2 /4 fro/Q A/E/ PatentedApr. 15, 1930 UNITED STATES BARBIE B. MARKHAM, OF ESCANABA, MICHIGANFURNACE Application filed September 22, 1928.

My invention relates to improvements in warm air furnaces and relatesmore particularly to a novel blower attachment therefor for forcing thewarm air through the heating pipes whereby a furnace which is ordinarilya poor heater can be made to function with entire satisfaction.

Briefly stated, the invention has for its primary object the provisionof a novel blower attachment for furnaces which is very simple inconstruction, highly efficient in practical use and which can be readilyinstalled upon all types of hot air furnaces without the exercise ofunusual skill and without substantial modification of the furnace.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a deviceof this kind having novel supporting and mounting means whereby it maybe applied to the hood of the furnace and rendered effective for usewithout necessitating the disconnection of all of the furnace pipes fromthe hood.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of anattachment, as characterized, which will eifectually prevent crosscurrents within the hood and which is adapted for use in connection witha furnace having many or few hot air pipes leading from the hood.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment, as stated,which maybe used for circulating cool air through the dwelling in hotweather.

The invention also resides in certain novel features of construction,combination and arrangement of the various parts and in modes ofoperation to be hereinafter described and claimed,reference being had tothe accompanying drawings which illustrate what is now regarded as apreferred form of the invention. It is to be understood, however, thatthe invention is capable of other mechanical expressions and I thereforereserve the right to make such changes and modifications in theillustrated form of the invention as fairly fall within the spirit and.scope of the subject matter claimed thereinafter.

In the drawings, wherein the saine reference characters have been usedto designate the same parts in all views,

Serial No. 307,671.

Figure 1, is a view partly in elevation and partly sectioned and brokenaway, showing the application of the invention to the hood of aconventional hot air furnace;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the hood of thefurnace and showing the fan, its mounting and drive means,-the motorbeing deleted;

Figure 3 is a group perspective view of the motor and its supportingplate with the depending casing which is adapted to be supported by theaforementioned plate within the hood of the furnace;

Referring specifically to the drawings, 1 designates the furnace havingthe fire box 2 communicating with the smoke pipe 3, which is providedwith a damper 4 and an outlet 5 for connection with the chimney. Thehood portion 6 of the furnace is shown as located above the fire box andsmoke pipe. From this hood 6 lead the hot air pipes 7,-the latter beingconnected to the hood in the usual, or in any preferred manner. Theheated air passes up through the space around the fire box 2,-such spacebeing designated as 6%- and nally to the hood, as indicated by thearrows in Figure 1.

Coming now to the attachment which is the subject of my invention thesame comprises a relatively flat conical plate 9, which is adapted to besupported by the conical top portion 6b of the hood 6,-there being, asshown,-a hole 8 cut in the hood top 61. The plate 9 is of greaterdiameterthan the hole 8 and is thus supported by the hood top 6b, asshown. Plate 9 is preferably bolted to hood top 6b, as indicated at 10.

The motor 12 is vertically disposed and is supported by legs or braces11 having their lower ends bolted, as at 11a, to the conical base plate9. The projecting armature-shaft portion 13 is received in the socketedend 14a of the fan supporting drive shaft 14, the elements 13, 14":lbeing held against relative rotation by the key 13a extending throughshaft 13 and end slots 14b in socket member 14. Of course, socket member14a may be separably and ixedly secured to shaft 14 without the exerciseof invention.

The drive shaft 14 extends through a tubular standard 15 having aconical base 16 bolted to the plate 9, as indicated at 16a. The driveshaft 14 extends through the apex of the plate 9 and carries therebelowthe horizontally disposed suction fan 17, as indicated,-this fan beingdisposed in a circular casing 18 having a bottom inlet opening 19. Thecasing 18 has an inturned marginal flange at its top, as indicated at18b in Figure 2,-bolts 18a being employed for bolting the casing 18 tothe plate 9 as shown. Y

The casing 18 has in its side wall a circumferential series of outletholes 2O communicating with necks 21 for the attachment of pipe sections22 which are adapted to project into the respective hot air supply pipes7, as indicated in Figure 1. Any suitable means may be availed of forattaching the pipesections 22 for communication with'the opening 2() inthe casing 18.

It will be apparent that the fan 17 and its shaft 14 are rotatablysupported bythe engagement of the socket section shoulder with the endof the tubular standard 15.

Vherethe attachment is applied to a furnace having fewer hot air pipes 7than the number of holes 2O in the casing 18,-disllike closures 20a areprovided for sealing the unused openings 20,-it being understood thatonly such openings 20 will be used las are opposite the inlets of thehot air pipes 7. In this way there will be no'wastage of hot air. Inorder to protect the motor 12 from the heat of the furnace, I provide7preferably, three sheets or plies of asbestos 23 (F igure 1) which aresuitably supported beneath the motor 12 by its outwardly divergingsupporting legs 11. As a further protection to the motor, I fill therecess of the inverted conica-l hood top 6" with a quantity of sand 24(Fig. 1). This, of course, covers plate V16 to a depth of five inches ormore, but as will be evident shaft 14 is fully protected from such sandby tube 15.

In order to keep the moving parts lubricated an oil reservoir 26 has asuitable motorcarried bracket mounting 26a for disposing it above themotor. From reservoir 26 pipes 27, 28, 29 lead, respectively, to theinterior of tube 15 and the adjacent and remote armature shaft bearingsof the motor 12, tubular Vcasing 15 has a bronze bearing bushing 30adjacent its lower end for shaft 14, as indicated in Figure 2.

The operation of the device and the advantages thereof will doubtless bereadily under stood and appreciated by those skilled in the art from theforegoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. It will be noted that the diameter of the hole 8 is sufficientto permit the casing 18 to be lowered into the hood. The suction fan 17draws the'hot air from the space (ia into the casing 18 through thebottom hole 19 and as will be readily apparent, discharges the air outthrough the holes 20 and pipe sections 22 into the hot air supply pipes7 through which the same conducted to the registers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A hot air furnace having a warm airconnecting hood at the top and supply pipes communicating with saidhood, a suction fan attachment comprising a base plate, said hood tophaving a hole adapted to be closed by said base plate and to form acontinuation Vof the top of said hood, a fan rotatably journalled insaid base plate and projecting from the lower face of said base plate, acasing carried by said base plate and projecting into said hood, saidcasing having abottom inlet and a plurality of side wall outlets andserving as a housing for inclosing said fan, means for rotating saidfan, and pipe sections adapted to be connected to the respective outletsof said casing for communication with the respective heating pipes. v

2. A hot air furnace hood having a cent-ral opening in its top wall, anattachment con prising a closure plate for saidopening formino acontinuation of said top wall, a casing carried by said closure plateand projecting from the under surface thereof, the size of Said casingbeing such that it maybe introduced into said hood through said hole, afan having a shaft extending through said plate and into said casing,bearing means forsaid fan shaft carried by said plate, said casinghaving a hot air inlet and a plurality of hot air outlets, and means forestablishing direct positive communication between said casing outletsand the respective hot air pipes where by a blast of air can be forcedthereinto.

3. A hot air furnace hood having a central hole in its top wall, aclosure plate for said hole forming a continuation of said top wall, acasing carried by the under surface of said closure plate and projectinginto said hood, the hood having hot air pipes communicating therewith, asuction fan in said casing, the casing having an inlet for hot air and aplurality of outlets, a shaft for said fan and extending transverselythrough said closure plate, bearing means for said shaft supported bysaid closure plate, said fan shaft having a head enlargement adapted tobe supported by said bearing means and said casing forming an inclosurefor said fan, a motor, means carried by said base plate and includingsaid bearing means for supporting said motor thereabove, said motorhaving an armature shaft and a driving connection between armature shaftand said fan shaft head, and means for establishing direct and positivecommunication between said casing outlets and said hot air supply pipes.

4. An attachment for hot air furnaces comprising a base plate, a casingcarried by the under-surface of said base plate, said casingl having aninlet and a plurality of side wall outlets, a suction fan inclosed insaid casing alined with said outlets, said fan having a shaft extendingthrough said plate, a bearing carried by said plate and through whichsaid shaft extends, said shaft having a head enlargement at one end foroverlying said bearing end to support the fan, brackets carried by saidplate and rising therefrom, said brackets converging toward their upperends, a motor supported in part by said brackets and in part by saidbearing, said motor having an armature shaft, and a supporting andydriving connection between said armature shaft and the head enlargementof said fan shaft.

5. A hot air furnace hood having a top hole therein, a forced hot airdischarge attachment including a fan-enclosing inlet casing havingoutlets and being insertible into the furnace hood through said hole, asupporting plate for said casing and overlying said hood wall about saidhole and forming a continuation of such wall, a fan shaft extendingthrough said plate and into said casing and having a fan, an upstandingbearing rising from said supporting plate and through which said fanshaft extends, the shaft and bearing having cooperating means torotatably support the shaft against dropping into the furnace, supportscarried by said plate and surrounding said bearing, a motor ldetachablycarried by said supports and adriving connection between said motor andsaid shaft.

6. A hot air furnace hood having a top hole therein, a forced hot airdischarge attachment including a fan insertible into the furnace hoodthrough said hole, a supporting plate overlying said hood wall aboutsaid hole and forming a continuation of such wall, a fan shaft extendingthrough said plate, an upstanding bearing rising from said supportingplate and through which said fan shaft extends, the shaft and bearinghaving cooperating means to rotatably support the shaft against droppinginto the furnace, supports carried by said plate and surrounding saidbearing, a motor detachably carried by said supports and a drivingconnection between said motor and said shaft.

7. A hot air furnace hood having a top hole therein, a forced hot airdischarge attachment including a fan insertible into the furnace hoodthrough said hole, a supporting plate overlying said hood wall aboutsaid hole and forming a continuation of such wall, a fan shaft extendingthrough said plate, an upstanding bearing rising from said supportingplate and through which said fan shaft extends, the shaft and bearinghaving cooperating means to rotatably support the shaft against droppinginto the furnace, supports carried by said plate and surrounding saidbearing, a motor detachably carried by said supports and a drivingconnection between said motor and said shaft, and an insulation shieldcarried by said supports between the motor and supporting plate.

8. A hot air furnace hood having a top hole therein, a forced hot airdischarge attachment including a fan insertible into the furnace hoodthrough said hole, a supporting plate overlying said hood wall aboutsaid hole and forming a continuation of such wall, a fan shaft extendingthrough said plate, an upstanding bearing rising from said supportingplate and through which said fan shaft extends, said bearing having aflanged base secured to said plate to reinforce and increase the heatresistance thereof about the fan shaft, the shaft and bearing havingcooperating means to rotatably support the shaft against dropping intothe furnace, supports carried by said plate and surrounding said sbearing, a motor detachably carried by said supports and a drivingconnection between said motor and said shaft.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

HARRIE B. MARKHAM.

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